"Thank you for the last 8 1/2 years" -  5-time champion announces he's been released by WWE minutes before SmackDown; confirmed minutes later

A five-time WWE champion is done with the company and has been released. The news broke minutes before SmackDown started after the star has now shared it himself.

Cedric Alexander took to social media to share the news right before WWE SmackDown started. He thanked fans for the last eight and a half years he had spent in the company. He won multiple 24/7 Titles, a tag team title, as well as the Cruiserweight Championship. He said that he'd been dreaming of being a wrestler for a long time and would continue in that role even after this. He said he'd see everyone 90 days after the non-compete clause expires.

Triple H is said to be the one who releases stars, so it's expected that he also had a say in this.

"Thank you for the last 8 1/2 years! Being a professional wrestler has been a dream of mine since I could form memories and I will continue to do so till the good Lord says otherwise. #SeeYouIn90," Cedric wrote on X.

The fact that he was released was confirmed minutes later by Dave Meltzer. The breaking news followed soon after Alexander had announced that he was done with the company and that they were parting ways.

Now that Alexander has left WWE, the expectation is that he will join the rest of the former Hurt Business in AEW, where Bobby Lashley, Shelton Benjamin, and MVP have formed a new faction called the Hurt Syndicate.